Clinton is sick – but we should all be worried about Trump's immunity

On Monday, while everyone was obsessing over Hillary Clinton's health, Donald Trump accused Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve, of political corruption. And no one noticed.

The Republican presidential nominee is so consistently outrageous that he can no longer outrage. He keeps such foul company that he can consort with any life, no matter how low, and get away with it. His accusations are so unmoored from the truth that few even bother to fact check any more. By being so relentlessly controversial, Donald Trump has rendered himself immune to controversy.

Just to backtrack and provide quotes – because under the old rules you're supposed to – Mr. Trump told CNBC by phone that Ms. Yellen "should be ashamed of herself" for colluding with the Obama administration to artificially depress interest rates so that the economy will appear to be healthy when Barack Obama leaves office, "and let the new guy…raise interest rates…and watch what happens to the stock market when that happens."

We could, of course, correct Mr. Trump: We could talk about how the Federal Reserve, like the Bank of Canada and other central banks, independently charts monetary policy, about how central banks co-operate with each other to manage rates to protect the global economy, about… oh, what's the point? As Mr. Trump has himself triumphantly pointed out, he could commit homicide on Fifth Ave. and get away it. Let's move on.

Mr. Trump has promised to release medical records this week that will show the 70-year-old is physically up to the job of being president. Ms. Clinton, who at 68 is fighting a bout of pneumonia, promises to do likewise.

But it is unlikely the Democrats will release their results on TV, courtesy of Dr. Oz, Mehmet Cengiz Oz is a surgeon and, like Mr. Trump, a television personality. He will take the results of the medical records provided to him by the Trump camp and discuss the results with Mr. Trump. Pre-taped! On air!

We could, of course, list the many ways this bit of theatre doesn't begin to clear the bar of an objective, independent medical examination. But why bother? Each mendacity is throttled by its successor.

Oh, by the way, Mr. Trump has proposed that he debate Hillary Clinton with no moderator present because "the system is being rigged" and he would be "treated very, very unfairly by the moderators."

Accusing the Commission on Presidential Debates of bias and collusion is, of course, a completely unwarranted slander.

But who cares any more?